Wodonga prices kicked $100

With barely a sniff of rain across northern NSW additional buyers flocked in support of a 3100-head Wodonga store cattle penning on Thursday kicking steer prices, in most cases, by $50 to $100 a head, and cow and calves by $150-$300 a head.

With barely a sniff of rain across northern NSW additional buyers flocked in support of a 3100-head Wodonga store cattle penning on Thursday kicking steer prices, in most cases, by $50 to $100 a head, and cow and calves by $150-$300 a head.

The influx of additional buying was lead by a busload of South Australian interests along with agent buyers from Ballarat, Geelong, Leongatha, Yea, Euroa and King Island, Tasmania.

And while quality was overall not to the standard of the previous Wodonga clearance local buying also made its presence felt lifting feeder steer rates by 25-30c/kg and heavier and lighter steer prices by 8-12c/kg.

Heavy steers on the day were sold from $1210 to $1375 a head and averaged 274c/kg. Feeder steers, 360-450kg, made $1025-$1300, average 299-cents while lighter, 280-360kg, steers made $880-$1150 per head and averaged 318c/kg.

Among the better sales, RA & MH Trethowan, Cookardina, NSW sold two yards of Hereford steers, 427 kg and 388kg at $1270 and $1230 a head respectively.

D&M Turner, Ivanhoe were among the volume sellers. They sold Angus steers, 438kg and 368kg at $1300 and $1100 while Upper Wantagong, Holbrook sold Shorthorn steers, 466kg at $1210 along with an Angus pen, 464kg at $1290.

Multiple-yard sellers of other lighter steers included BG, LE & SB Thomas, Hay with yards of Angus, 341kg and 286kg sold at $1070 and $905 a head. Tararu, Barnawartha sold a pen of 20 Angus, 326kg at $1040 while Baxter Bros, Barnawartha cleared a pen of 19 Angus, 309kg, sold at $955.

While the demand for steers was strong, heifer prices also popped strongly by 20-30c/kg for a net per head increase of about $60-$100.

HC Collins, Stanley scored one the higher cents per kilogram sales on the day. The Collins Angus steers, 282kg, made $990 or 351c/kg while Hicks Family Trust sold 301kg Angus steers at $900.

An even draft of JM & SD Jeffcott, Berringama Hereford steers, 336kg, (31 in the pen) were keenly sought to $1030 while JE & JR Wright, Sandy Creek, sold at $1010 a yard of 34 Hereford steers, 329kg.

Heavy heifers, 360-414kg, made $950-$1235 a head to average 292c/kg while lighter, 280-360kg, heifers made $8100-$1040 and average 282c/kg.

Included in the heifer run was an outstanding draft of 120 Charolais-Angus heifers, Paringa sold account Mount Annan, Holbrook.

Weighed at 412kg, 369kg and 335kg these made $1235, $1145 and $1040 a head while D&M Turner sold Angus heifers, 350kg and 386kg at $985 and $1020 a head respectively.

Buyer interest in the procurement of breeding females – cows and calves – was also far superior than the fortnight earlier Barnawartha market.

A special dispersal of the Raheen Pastoral, Hay, NSW Angus herd, Lawson-blood, drew plenty of attention from breeders seeking quality.

A pen of eight Raheen Angus heifers, aged 2.5 years, with 2 to 5 month-old Angus calves at foot and re-depastured to Lawson bulls for eight weeks made $2500 per outfit while a yard of 31 of its Angus cows, 3-7 years, with similar calves and joining, made to $2380.

Other pens of cows, with calves at foot, (and presented in good condition) made $1600 to $1900 while cows and calves presented in seasonally poor condition made $1300- $1600.

A selection of breeding females, pregnancy tested in calf however were more difficult to quit selling at prices between $700 to $1340 a head depending on size, weight and anticipated calving ease.

Raheen Pastoral sold 525kg Angus heifers for slaughter at $1340 while a yard of Marranoonbah, Dubbo, NSW Santa and Santa-Angus heifers, 539kg, made $1220.

The Corcoran Parker selling team offered a number of quality Hereford steer lines that made equivalent money to their black counterparts.